Seeing as I didn’t have much to do, I called my cousin.

‘Hello?’

‘Hi Maria! It’s Mithra.’

‘Mithra! Oh my god, so nice to hear from you! How’s Ayia Napa?’

‘It’s great! And I’ve also gotten a job, so it looks like I’m staying in Cyprus after all.’

‘A job? Gee that’s lucky! I’m glad you’re staying, hopefully we can see you more often now.’

‘Sure thing. So how’s things over there?’

‘Good! I’ve been preparing for my next dance show, which is on Sunday.’

‘Hmm, what time? I’d like to see it.’

‘It’s at seven o’clock.’

‘I’ll be there!’

‘Yay! Well I gotta go, I’ve got practice. Can’t wait to see you!’

We hung up. Feeling suddenly at a loss, I picked at my nails. The white nail polish was starting to come off. On a whim, I decided to paint my nails with the turquoise nail polish I’d bought last weekend. First, I wiped off the white polish, filing my nails a little. Then I began applying the summery new colour.

I wasn’t surprised that I failed at the task, getting the wet paint on the nails messed up while moving about in my room, restless for activity. I studied my nails, sighing in defeat. Oh well, it didn’t look too horrible.

Luckily the phone rang. It was Jas.

‘Hey!’ I said. ‘You done for today?’

‘Yeah, thank god. I’m exhausted. Want to just lazy about on the beach?’

‘Hell yes.’

A while later I found myself walking out onto the hot sand of the beach, squinting at the sun’s intense glare. I spotted Jas lying down on a sunbed, her body safe from the sun thanks to a large wooden umbrella. Jasmine was half Cypriot like me, but her mother’s English genes had won over, seeing as she was fair-skinned and easily burned in the sun.

I tapped her gently on the shoulder. ‘What’s up?’

She looked up at me, her blue eyes serene. ‘Andrew asked me out again,’ she said, studying my eyes.

I groaned. ‘Jeez, won’t the guy take a hint? What did you say?’

‘I accepted.’

I blinked at her. ‘What? Since when are you interested in Andrew?’

‘I’m depressed, since I can’t find that stupid guy from the other day.’

‘So you decide to date someone else, just like that?’

‘It doesn’t have to lead to anything! I just thought it would be fun. I mean I haven’t even given him a chance.’

I grimaced. ‘But it’s…Andrew.’

‘Hey, don’t tell me he’s not cute, ‘cause he totally is!’

‘Okay yeah, I know, but his personality,’ I shuddered in pretend horror, ‘not as cute.’

She sighed, casting her eyes out to the sea. I studied her profile for a while. Her straight, small nose. The defined lines of her cheekbone and jaw. Her curved eyelashes, which were coated in a layer of mascara.

I was pondering why people wore make-up to the beach when I saw the tall and thin guy from yesterday. His hair was black and spiky, dripping wet as he trotted ungracefully out of the sea. This time he wasn’t wearing the sunglasses, and his dark eyes looked stormy, facial features sent into hard, grim lines.

I tried not to grimace as I watched his body. His ribs were slightly visible, his waist wide but seeming to bend like paper when he moved. His legs were about as slim as my arms, looking unsteady as he wobbled about in the water.

‘Ugh, you’d think he could eat more and work out a little.’

I glanced down at Jas, one eyebrow raised in question.

‘I can think of another person who needs to eat more,’ I said, eyeing her thin arms and flat stomach.

‘Yeah yeah, you just don’t like thin people.’

‘It’s not that! I don’t have a problem against skinny people. I just wouldn’t want to be one. If I could choose how I wanted my body to be, I would want it to be curvy, healthy and strong, not thin.’

Unfortunately, I thought to myself, I wasn’t doing a good job of following my own advice.

‘I eat! It’s that just work is exhausting, I move about all day.’

It was true. Working at a restaurant, or worse, a bar, would definitely have you working your backside all day.

I looked back at the guy, who by now was checking us out. Correction: checking Jas out. But that was nothing out of the ordinary. Caught staring at us, he plumped down on his sunbed to our left, picked up his book, and buried his nose in it. I continued to watch him, and sure enough, he glanced tentatively over his book to check out Jas again. Noticing me, he blanched and quickly hid behind the cover of his book. I tried to contain my smile.

Poor guy. Jas would never be interested in him.

‘I guess I should work in a restaurant instead of in a reception where I’ll just sit and lazy about all day,’ I said at last.

‘We can totally swap if you want,’ she sighed. But we both knew that wouldn’t happen.

‘I’m going to start self-defence classes,’ I blurted before I could stop myself.

She looked up, shocked. ‘What? When did you decide that?’

‘Oh, um, yesterday.’ I felt like a naughty school girl that had finally revealed a secret to her mother.

Suddenly, Jasmine’s face sobered and her eyes filled with concern. ‘Did anything happen to you, Mithra?’ My face must have registered horror when I realised what she meant. ‘It’s okay. If anything happened, you can talk to me,’ she continued.

Finally I recovered my ability to speak. ‘No, no! It’s nothing like that!’ I said, taking a breath. ‘I just thought it would be good to know, and it’s good exercise.’ I decided to not mention the fact that Jason would be my instructor. Guilt lapped at my conscience. Selfish, so selfish.

Jasmine looked relieved. ‘Well, yeah, I think it sounds like a good idea.’ She mulled it over for a second, still pondering this sudden change in me. ‘When will you start?’

‘Tomorrow.’

‘Talk about being eager,’ she said, shooting me a playful look.

I laughed. Talk about an understatement.

‘I guess I am eager, and a little nervous too. I’ve got no idea what I’m getting myself into.’ I dragged my gaze to the sea then, feeling the anxiety well up in me again. It twisted in my belly, making me feel nauseated.

But then the sea glistened as the sunlight struck it, and the beautiful display of Cypriot nature calmed my nerves.

I’ll be fine, I thought to myself. It’s just going to the gym, for heaven’s sake. I would just try it out, and if I didn’t like it, then that was that—I didn’t need to go again. And if I did like it; all the better! I could make a serious effort to stay healthy while I learned how to defend myself, which was necessary for all girls out there.

When my eyes met Jas’ again, I saw that she was observing me with a hint of amusement.

‘What?’ I asked.

‘It’s just funny when you suddenly go quiet, lost in your thoughts. You’re so hard to read, I’ve got no way of knowing what the hell’s passing through that head of yours.’

I stared at her, mouth agape. Jas sometimes surprised me with her sharp observation.

‘I, um.’ I tried to recover myself, squirming uncomfortably. ‘Meh, nothing interesting goes on in my head.’

She dropped her eyes to her manicured hands. She always got her nails done at a beauty salon, so they were layered in thick gel coloured a soft, baby pink. She was holding them up, inspecting them when she said, ‘I’m not entirely sure of that.’